The present invention relates generally to a vehicle security system and, in particular, to a vehicle security system which can be vocally operated by the driver.
In recent years, vehicle security systems have become increasingly popular with automobile drivers as instances of vehicle theft and tampering have increased. While many automobiles include factory-installed security systems, many other automobiles which do not include a factory-installed system have been retrofitted with an after-market security unit.
Conventional security systems are provided with some type of manually actuated control switch which enables the vehicle driver to arm and disarm the operation of the unit. Generally, in a factory installed system, the manually actuated switch is associated with the driver's key actuated door lock in a factory installed system. An after-market system typically requires the installation of a key actuated switch in an exterior body panel, or an interior-mounted switch which must be actuated after a certain time delay. Additionally, the more sophisticated security units include a plurality of push buttons for selecting various modes of operation.
There are numerous voice actuated control systems which have been proposed for use with vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,545 discloses a voice responsive door lock system wherein the door lock device is vocally controlled by the driver via a voice recognition unit. The system recognizes an unlocked door and initiates a question as to the necessity for locking the door. The voice recognition unit identifies the driver's reply and produces a door lock command signal for actuating the door lock device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,012 discloses a voice actuated systems for vehicles for controlling the on/off condition of the ratio or air conditioner, and controlling the high/low Beam Status Of The
headlights.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,730 discloses a voice actuated system for controlling the temperature setting of a vehicle air conditioning system.
Also, there are also several commercially available systems which utilize synthesized speech for calling the driver's attention to various conditions which exist in a vehicle.